3. A Real Philosophy of Life and Living! {Third in series of "Christian View of Life and Living"} You have the right to know what the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was like before the Bible Baptist Fundamentalists (BBFs) took over; what the former Baptist Book Store and Broadman Press were like before these BBFs now in control at the top of the SBC ravaged the same with replacement books from their own lineage; and primarily you have the right to know how those once considered as the most authoritative like Truett, Carroll, Lee, Summers, and Wayne Oates, also McDowell of the once famous “Meaning and Message of Revelation”, are put in second place compared to the respected by the BBFs. It is just no fair what these BBFs have done and continue to do to once outstanding Baptist churches, and the way through the “Menace of Mediocrity” continue to erode the great Baptist heritage. If you have lived long enough to sit under the ministries of Truett and Lee, you know; but if under Criswell, Stanley, and Rogers you did not know true southern baptists ways and beliefs, only those of the BBFs. since these came from a BBF background to take over large formerly SBC churches. Can any good thing come out of Dallas Baptist Theological Seminary; perhaps today, but not in the past as they were the real hotbed of BBFs teachings, especially on the adopting of the eschatological propaganda of the divorced lawyer Scofield, and pastor of the First Congregationalist Church of Dallas. Yet the influence of the Scofield Notes of the Scofield Bible among these BBFs can not be explained alone by the correspondence course of Scofield himself to the backwoods Baptist churches and preachers; it takes a recognition of the present and existing influence from Memphis Tenn of the Scofield Bible Association, an association conceived and continually sponsored by missionaries. Not less an authority than Henry Steele Commager, without any axe to grind on religion, stated that fundamentalism was started by a group of California millionaires. You saw that fundamentalism continue in George Bush, and you can witness it each year in any church dominated in influence by a bunch of millionaires and other well-to-dos. Each year they strive through their pastors and other leaders to call revival signs what is really signs of the Falling Away. One of the most famous of BBFs gave a big boast to that pattern for them, Jerry Falwell, as shortly before his death he was outspoken about the three great signs of revival as Ted Haggart, then president of the nation wide evangelistic association, as Warren’s purpose driven books which encourage goals based on wants and desires more than driven by Christ and the Spirit, and as LeHaye’s left behind books that promote a false sense of security that living Christians will not be part of the Falling Away. {See online at www.biblecombibleman.com, the “Demonic Veil of the Rapture”.} Now a revival in the same distorted sense of revival, you can count on each year is a revival of the old Gospel of wealth and corollary of success philosophy, most often under new disguises of itching ears teachings but still using worldly words and concepts. {Face it, “success” in any generation or wealthy church, before and now, is bottom line justification of a very worldly philosophy of life mixed in with superficial Bible.} 3-1: Primarily based on the Bible and that Baptist and SBC Baptist heritage, you have the right to hear a real Christian Philosophy of Life and Living that does not ignore the unique times in which we live! Don’t get off on the wrong foot in understanding, this is only Philosophy in the sense of Elton Truebood’s PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION, or his YOUR OTHER VOCATION, and this is as down to earth and practical for life and living as what BBFs are calling success for the Christian today. The approach is as down to earth as what you have found in the (1) ALL Scripture approach of SunGrist_Bible on www.biblecombibleman.com, and (2) the Balanced Christian Life of Bread and Bible. As a basis you can not get any better on a Christian View of Life and Living than from Jesus Himself, the first Christian or to use the words of the Bible in Hebrews 11, “the firstborn” for the calling out from the world by God an assembly that is written on the determinative church roll of heaven. Although some of these formerly recognized authorities in Baptist life and work will be quoted to illustrate the forgotten words that Jesus taught, primarily we turn to Jesus Who came from God the Father to teach us all the things that God had in mind for us to know. 1. Just like all the prophets in Jeremiah except Jeremiah himself, the prophets, pastors, and teachers today are feeding you positive assurances of continued comfort and security, that ignores “THE TIME” that we are presently in during 2013 and following, if there really is a following. a. Each Sunday ignores this critical point of history of the present when “THE TIME” (II Timothy 4:4,5) of the great apostasy called the Falling Away is already upon us and growing in intensity with the rising tide of the “mystery of lawlessness” of II Thessalonians. b. By neglect they ignore the kind of “TIMES of refreshing from the presence of the LORD that Peter proclaimed in Acts, partly because of the “Demonic Veil of a False Rapture”--out of TIME sequence but which provides their congregations with a false sense of security that Christians will not be in the falling away and the final tribulation. 2. THE TIME of the real “last days” of the Bible, beginning with the coming to earth on the first day of Pentecost after the Ascension of the Holy Spirit, in great power and glory; and the withdrawal of that same Spirit, per II Thessalonians, during the Falling Away and near the END at the Second Coming of Christ. The same last days the Prophet Joel and the Apostle Peter spoke of in Acts 2:16-21. 3-2: An Outline of World History, Coming and Withdrawal of the Holy Spirit to and from Earth. {Same as “Last Days” in the Bible.} NOTE: Pardon the spreading out of Acts 2:16-21, but the characteristics of that period of history of the universe as given in the Bible, is an outline of world history from the Ascension of Christ {with the coming of the Holy Spirit} and near the END with the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from earth. 1. Introduction to a world outline centered around the Holy Spirit. “But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God.” 2. Beginning of the last days, alias Coming of the Holy Spirit democratically and in Great Power and Presence. “that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh, your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.” NOTE: Look at the great teaching passages from Jesus on what the Holy Spirit was sent to do on earth: (1) To convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, of John 16:7-11, which very importantly limits the work of Satan {The Bible often calls it putting Satan in bondage} until He is withdrawn from the earth near the END; (2) To give Christians a help, or Helper, in the living of the Christian way of life and living, John 16: 7, the same thing Ralph Herring had in mind as he wrote the wonderful SB baptist book, “God Being My Helper” 3. This Period of Last Days, alias the time between the Coming of the Spirit and the Withdrawal, is characterized by SIGNS that are to be seen by every person of earth. “...I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs in the earth beneath...” NOTE: Even as you can not ignore that the “I” above is God Himself. In short, it is God Himself that sends the wonders and signs; and the signs are to be read for the public as a forewarning of the END to come! 4. What those SIGN are during the period of the last days that are to be heeded as a message of warning from God Himself are: “...(1) blood, and (2) fire, and (3) vapor of smoke...” NOTE: What should you think when you see or participate in a calamity like a tornado, a hurricane, or some other calamity: (1) That God is showing you something, and (2) That something is that THE END calamity to come shortly will be total devastation rather than a limited devastation. The same Apostle Peter who quoted from Joel in Acts, on the first day of Pentecost after the Ascension, also warned us of the approaching final destruction of this old earth in order to usher in a new earth. 3-3: THE TIME of The END of time and world history is with fire like in the long period of TIME between the start and end of last days, that same period between the Coming and Withdrawal of the Holy Spirit. 1. II Peter 3:7 -- “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire {hopefully you can associate the fire above of blood, fire and vapor of smoke that shows wonders and signs in heaven and on earth during the period of last days, with this END and terminating fire, after all, fire is fire whether it comes as a sign or the END!} until the day of judgment and the perdition of ungodly men.” a. Preservation of the Earth from Destruction. In a short exegesis that requires no Greek, but just to let the Bible say what it wants to say, THE EARTH CONTINUING WITH GRACE AND MERCIES OF GOD, IS A PROVIDENTIAL ACT OF GOD WHEREBY HE IS PRESERVING THE EARTH FOR THE END. b. Even as husbands and wives are “heirs together of the grace of life”, so life is a grace from God, not earned and not to be presumed upon. Just like He teaches the “good man” of Psalms 34, and other Psalms, to order his steps and “teach him to apply his heart to wisdom”, so He has an allotted number of days for each Christian good man. c. Even as we yet in the Christian View of Life and Living have not fully defined yet from the Bible the full distinction, with the full Word of God, Old and New Testaments, on the difference between the godly and ungodly, or the good man and the wicked, so here in II Peter 3:7 we must deal with the wicked as in “the day of judgment and the perdition of ungodly men”, recognized that ungodly or wicked in the sight of God is as simple as neglecting God, not thinking about God, or of a failure to exercise faith in God. To the human, and in the nature of human justification and rationalization, neglect and failure of thoughts and lack of faith is not immoral, wicked, and ungodly; however since God made man originally for fellowship, neglect is a very serious matter. d. There is no judgment for believers as their names are already written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, that roll of the Assembly of the Firstborn; but God’ s Reservation and Preservation of this old earth is only until His allotted END day at the Second Coming of Christ, God’s end goal at the END being the just “day of judgment and perdition of men.” 2. II Peter 3:10 -- “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise {you need not fear that you will miss that day of the Lord as some in past history falsely thought they had, since all the earth will hear that “great noise”}, and the elements will melt with fervent heat {get that, the elements themselves will melt with fervent heat, let’s see what are we up to now, it has to be over 100?}; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” 3-4: The “day of judgment and the perdition of ungodly men” of II Peter 3:7 correlated with Revelation 21:8 to give a Biblical concept of the difference between the good man and the wicked, between the righteous and the ungodly. This correlation of Bible to define evil versus good, in the sight of God as recorded in the Bible, can not be under estimated as a proper basis for any Christian View of Life and Living. Surely you would agree that to a certain extent, your life view and style is based ultimately of what you conceive to be the difference between Good and Evil. How important it is to turn to God in the Bible before we try to continue this series on the Christian View of Life and Living. We were forced into the subject of the good versus the wicked, or the godly versus the ungodly, by the request for a thorough exegesis of Psalm 37, and now we must deal with it before we can pass on in the series. There can not be any sufficient answer to the good versus evil in the whole world, without a taking account of the total wisdom God has given us in the total Bible, “a lamp unto our feet and a light on our path”. We must use it all, Old and New Testaments; and what with this foundation of between good and evil we are doing, is to get in the all answering teachings of Jesus on the Christian View of Life and Living. We can first define EVIL in the sight of God as defined in His Bible, then what is God in His sight will be what is left. {Granted that is not completely sufficient, and we can not in one message of the series cover all, so please refer to the “Righteousness of God and Man”, the second major topic of the 12 of the Bible, by going online to www.biblecombibleman.com and then to the subject.} Two of the best illustrative sections of the Bible on Evil, bad enough to bring perdition on the wicked at the END, are: (1) Revelation 21:8 and (2) Romans 1:28-32. 1. Revelations 21:8 please noting that the unbeliever is so wicked as to be right there in the middle of all those who fail to overcome the world. “But the cowardly {this is timid toward God, without enough courage to go counter the ways and traditions of the world by believing and trusting God}, unbelieving, abominable {once again not like as with the human concept of the abominable snow man, but rather with in the sight of God where all sin and lack of holiness is in His sight abominable}, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters {how easy it is for someone thought good by himself or his neighbors to put some worldly idols in front of God as a matter of priority}, and all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone {there is that fire that started with warning signs, and grew in kind and intensity during the last days, then consumed the earth at the END, and now continues as the eternal and ordained fate of the wicked and ungodly}, which is the second death.” a. First there is a first death that separates your soul from your body in preparation for eternity. b. Then there is a second death that after judgment and perdition, separates that same soul from God and godliness. 2. Romans 1:28-32, remembering that this refers to any social group in society of the history of the world that just plain simply refuses to think about God. Chapter 1 is in two parts, what happens to those to refuse to keep God in their thinking, the process of de-evolution; and the second part at the end where the evil are filled with unrighteousness and express such in specific manners. {For the first part since the time of this message of the series is limited, please go to online “Strong Delusions to False Conclusions” online at www.biblecombibleman.com under the same subject.} “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness, ; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 1:28-32) 3-5: As you increasingly get the smoke of world shaking in your nostrils, and it must increase to bring the ultimate destruction of this old earth with the ushering in of a new earth; as you see more fires from shakings and calamities, and as you see more of those vapor trails of tornadoes and hurricanes, etc, you that love God should also increase your awareness of what “He has prepared for those who love Him.” (I Corinthians 2:9) You know it is always great to have an objective standard like the Bible on which to base awareness, beyond fickle emotions and sometimes wavering faith. 1. Good and evil are not that complicated for a Bible believer. The minority righteous are those who love God and the majority wicked are those who do not love God. It is not required to do awesome sins, wrongs, and lawlessness to be labeled by God among the wicked, nor is it necessary to be famous for good in order to be labeled by God as among the righteous. Only in the puny ways of this world do we label sainthood. Of course the standards of righteousness are high as one must “love God with all his heart, mind, and soul”, according to Jesus in order to be among the righteous. You see, it is an attitude toward God more than works. 2. No hurricane, tornado, or other calamity diminishes that love from God which He returns with love for Him. “Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” (Romans 8:35) 3. Sure the calamities will increase to the utter destruction at the END, and that is a Bible fact. However the blessing that is constant during the signs and wonders then “the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD” (Acts 2:20b and Joel 2:28-32), is that no restrictions for salvation and the calling on the Lord God of the Universe through the Lord Jesus Christ are placed on world citizens, it will still come to pass any day and any time until the END “that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 and Joel 2:28-32). Also right up to the withdrawal of the Holy Spirit from earth near the END, the democratic nature of benefits from the Coming of the Spirit to earth after the Ascension remain. 4. Remain aware if you love God that: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.: (I Corinthians 2:9 and Isaiah 64:4) 3-6: WHY SIGNS? While the promise of eternal warfare is only available to those who love God in the sight of God, calamities are not that way as while they are SIGNS primarily for God’s people, of the first kind or of the second kind, the wicked that do not love God with “all the heart, mind, and soul” experience the “blood, fire, and vapor of smoke” just like the righteous that love God. The real question after calamities like tornadoes, hurricanes, and droughts--or any calamity which is under the control of God, on automatic or otherwise, is WHY SIGNS? Perhaps you missed SIGNS in Peter’s first public sermon (Acts 2:19), quoting from Joel in the OT about SIGNS, and in Peter and Joel’s outline of history {really more God’s own outline of history intended to be reinforced in the mind of world citizens coming from the duplicate sources of an Apostle and a Prophet. Actually if we get technical as we should in comparing Scripture with Scripture in the Bible to get the ASPI version, as contrasted to the selective quote, and quite often out of total context. method of the BBFs, God through both Apostles, Prophets, and primarily through Jesus has reinforced almost beyond enumeration the SIGNS recorded in the Bible of a “darkened sun” and a “blooded moon”. You can bet when you witness these two final signs on the sun and the moon which will be visible to all, the END is in process for which the warning signs of blood, fire, and vapor of smoke are only a constant reminder. Where the signs will be seen by all citizens of this old earth is evident as they will be seen “in heavens above and in earth beneath”! Who will see the signs in the heavens above and the earth beneath is also evident. Even as all world citizens can see the sun and the moon, so the whole world will see the darkened sun and the bloody moon. However it is possible that you have missed that the SIGNS of blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke are warning signs for the final Day of the LORD and the Lord. In the many references to that END day in the OT, it is generally the day of the Great LORD God our Father spelled in capital letters for the Father, and in the likewise many references in the NT it is the day of the Lord Jesus Christ, for one reason the END, contrary to false teachings of the BBF, is simultaneous with the Second Coming of Christ. Actually, and we like that technicality of the Second Coming, although on the same one day of the END of the old earth, that Second Coming of Jesus is moments before the END which gets the “living and the dead” caught up in the clouds away from the total destruction. What a sight that is going to be from the clouds, a panorama only comparable to God’s original creation of this universe. These calamities of the first kind like tornadoes, droughts, and hurricanes in the heavens above and in the earth beneath are acts of grace from God telling His own people and the whole world to get ready for the END destruction as in the words of Peter, even the elements are melted with fervent heat, just after a very loud noise. If you think the warning signs of being in a tornado or hurricane are loud, just think of the loudness of the real thing as the total Universe is destroyed. Surely from Acts 2:16-21 and Joel 2:28-32 that the Warning signs begin according to God’s outline of history immediately after the Ascension of Jesus and the sending of the Holy Spirit to work on earth, convicting the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, and being a companion and Comforter to the righteous. Also it should be intuitive that the signs in the heavens above and earth beneath will increase in intensity and number progressively as the END nears--and you are seeing that in the increases in blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke--right up to that “great and notable day of the LORD”, that day when all wrongs are made right and the righteous are rescued to a much better new earth. But is it clear as to the difference between the warning signs of blood, fire, and vapor of earth, and the final signs of a darkened sun and bloody moon? Well, it should be evident for those who believe the Bible! FINAL NOTE: You are not ready to really live until you know where you are going, and that depends on an understanding of what is wicked and what is righteous. It is simple but Biblically correct that the righteous are those who love God with all the heart, mind, and soul and the wicked are those who don’t care. |
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